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Analysis Of The Caenorhabditis Elegans Innate Immune Response To Coxiella Burnetii, James M. Battisti, Lance A. Watson, Myo T. Naung, Adam M. Drobish, Ekaterina Voronina, Michael F. Minnick
Analysis Of The Caenorhabditis Elegans Innate Immune Response To Coxiella Burnetii, James M. Battisti, Lance A. Watson, Myo T. Naung, Adam M. Drobish, Ekaterina Voronina, Michael F. Minnick
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is well established as a system for characterization and discovery of molecular mechanisms mediating microbe-specific inducible innate immune responses to human pathogens. Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular bacterium that causes a flu-like syndrome in humans (Q fever), as well as abortions in domesticated livestock, worldwide. Initially, when wild type C. elegans (N2 strain) was exposed to mCherry-expressing C. burnetii (CCB) a number of overt pathological manifestations resulted, including intestinal distension, deformed anal region and a decreased lifespan. However, nematodes fed autoclave-killed CCB did not exhibit these symptoms. Although vertebrates detect C. burnetii via TLRs, pathologies …